“I’ve probably bored you to death,” he said before standing from the booth.
His hand extended and gripped onto mine as he helped me to my feet. I was stuffed, bloated even, not exactly feeling my sexiest at that moment, but he looked at me as if I were the sexiest woman he’d ever seen.
I knew it was coming, the look in his eyes made it undeniable. My body clenched and my breathing became rapid as he pulled me into his arms. The aroma of sweet pizza sauce floated around the room as his lips pressed against mine. He was stiff too, probably just as tense as me, so it felt forced, not romantic like I’d hoped. I assumed he felt the awkwardness as well, but when his tongue slid across my lips and then poked into my mouth with rapid jabs, it was obvious he’d either not noticed or had chosen to ignore it and push on.
Wow, this sucks!
My tongue met his with a less than eager salutation before I gently pulled away, wiping the slobber from my chin. His eyes were so blue, still so seductive, and that face, my God, that beautiful face that harbored such lousy lips.
What a letdown.
“I’ll hail you a cab,” he offered, still smiling like that kiss was more than it had been.
“Thank you,” I replied and pulled a little farther from his tall, muscular body.
Outside, I gave him his coat back, even though he insisted I keep it. “Can I get your number?” he asked.
My stomach turned, but I forced a smile and took out my phone. “What’s yours?”
I inputted the digits into my contact list and started to push the phone back into my purse when he stopped me. “Call me now so I’ll have yours too.”
I hesitated but did it anyway, lighting up his phone and his face with the call. I knew I was probably overreacting; it was just an awkward first kiss, that’s all. He was handsome, gorgeous really, and I should be attracted to him.
Should be, but wasn’t.
“Text me when you get home so I know you made it safe,” he said as I waved my hand frantically in the air towards the oncoming cab.
“Okay,” I agreed, having no real intentions of doing any such thing.
I climbed into the cab; Jack shut the door and waved as it pulled away from the curb. I stared out the window and wondered how in the hell a man that impressive could leave me feeling so cold.
CHAPTER SIX
Ace
“You have a very sexy voice,” I said to the woman on the other end of my phone.
“Thank you.” She was staying professional, but I could hear pleasure in her response. “One first class ticket to Daytona Beach, leaving this afternoon at one o’clock. Is there anything else I can help you with today?” Her tone was still too professional for my liking.
“You can help me with your phone number.” I didn’t really want it, but I couldn’t help myself. Shit spewed from my mouth sometimes.
She giggled but didn’t fall for my line. “You have a great flight, Mr. Newman. And, good luck this season.” The phone clicked, and the woman with the sexy voice was gone from my life forever.
I gripped the handle of my bag, lifted it from the floor, and headed out the front door. Everything was locked up, the maid service set to clean once every two weeks while I was gone, and even though there was a nagging in my stomach, I was certain I hadn’t forgotten anything. Nothing I couldn’t buy when I reached my destination.
“Hey, wild man!” Brent said. He was a driver I sometimes hired to drive me around when I was going to party too hard, or like today, didn’t want to leave the Porsche at the airport for six weeks. “You’re getting an early start this season.” He noted my premature departure for spring training. I’d decided last night to head down early. I didn’t like being left behind.
“Yeah. No reason to hang around here.” I slid into the back seat, inserted earbuds into my ears, and turned up the Lynyrd Skynyrd playing on my phone.
The city whizzed past my window. Busy people traveled on their long commutes to work, bundled up kids walked along the sidewalks on their way to school, and here I sat in the warmth of my car, getting ready to get whisked away to Daytona Beach. Yes. I loved my life.
We detoured to the stadium first, and I thought it looked so desolate as Brent parked near the private entrance. There was no practice today, and from what I’d learned, only Coach and the pitching team would be there, huddling up before heading south for whatever specialized training bullshit they planned to do.
Well, good news, boys. Ace decided to join you.
“How long do you think you’ll be?” Brent asked as he opened the back door.
I slid out, removed my earbuds, and smiled. “Not sure. Why don’t ya grab some breakfast. Don’t go too far though.” I slipped a fifty in his hand.
“Thank you,” he gushed.
I left my bag in the car, walked towards the player’s entrance, and took a deep breath. I wasn’t sure coach was gonna like this. One of the homeless guys who hung around the place was huddled in a corner.
“Hey, Oscar,” I said, and he lifted his dirty head. I’d offered the vet room and board many times, but he never took it, said he couldn’t stand being closed up in a room. I pulled out my wallet and handed him a couple hundred dollars. “I’ll be gone for a while, so you gotta make it last, okay.”
“Thanks, Ace. Will do that.”
Damn. I hated leaving him in the cold like this.
“I could use a house sitter while I’m gone. Sure I can’t talk you into helping me out?”
His eyes changed, grew weary just like they always did when I mentioned it. “Nah. I like the outdoors just fine.”
I checked his gear. The thick sleeping bag and blankets I bought him before leaving for Hawaii still looked to be in good shape, as did his shoes and warm coat. “Did you lose your gloves?” I asked him, noting his bare fingers when he took the money.
“Some fool stole them.”
I took mine off and squatted to help him pull them on. “Here, I won’t need these in Florida. Did they take anything else?”
I’d bought a huge backpack for him to store his meager possessions, but it was still there, tied to him like always.
“Nope. I took them off to wash up down at the gas station, and when I looked up, they were gone.”
I looked into his worn face, his blue eyes always looked so sad. I couldn’t imagine living like this. Afraid of being inside an enclosed space, even if that space was large.
“Your cough better?” I asked him, wondering if I should ask the team doc to check on him again.
He smiled at me. “You go on, now. I’ll be fine, and I’ll be right here when you get back.”
“Alright. When it warms up, I’ll hook up that outdoor shower for you if you want, and I saw this cool open-air shelter that will protect you from the sun. You can test one of them for me, let me know if it works.”
His grin grew bigger. “We’ll see. Now go on. I need my rest.”